The present invention relates to semiconductor assemblies in thin-film SOI (Silicon on Insulator) technology.
Semiconductors in thin-film SOI technology include a semiconductor substrate on which an insulator layer is applied and on which in turn a semiconductor layer is arranged. The switching elements and circuits in SOI technology are arranged on the insulator and/or the insulator layer.
In contrast to assemblies including transistors which are, for example, manufactured directly on a silicon wafer, the transistors in SOI technology on the insulator layer include a lower capacitance so that the charges required up to switching may be reduced resulting in shorter switching times and lower power consumption. At the same time, smaller heat losses and thus lower requirements to cooling result from the reduced power consumption.
Due to the small film thickness of the semiconductor layer on the insulator layer in SOI technology, the ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) stability is frequently limited conceptually, since the energy of an ESD pulse typically has to be degraded in the semiconductor layer which, however, due to the insulator layer, exhibits strongly reduced thermal coupling.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for the present invention.